IN SEARCH OF BETTER ACUPUNCTURE

     Our journal is in search of better acupuncture and we need you! My thanks for your articles, e-mails of encouragement (and gifts of computer viruses!), which have inspired my staff and Ito strive for excellence. For many of you, there is an intense desire to bring out your internal potential in the field of acupuncture. The desire will not rest until it is completely awakened. The same can be said for the Medical Acupuncture journal. This journal wants to belong to the international medical community. If it is denied, then it will grow cold, empty, and the Qi will no longer fl ow. We must as a membership anchor ourselves to a publication that will breed powerful influence on the world around us. In pursuit of excellence, we must escape the prison of habit.

     Medical Acupuncture needs to become indexed in Index Medicus and its online counterpart, MEDLINE (the principal online bibliographic citation database of the National Library of Medicine's MEDLARS system), which are used internationally to provide access to the world's biomedical journal literature. The decision whether to index a joumal for these publications is an important one, and is made by the Director of the National Library of Medicine, based on considerations of both scientific policy and scientific quality. The Board of Regents of the Library sets policy for the Library. The Literature Selection Technical Review Committee (LSTRC) has been established to review journal titles and assess the quality of their contents. This information comes from the United States National Library of Medicine. Having discussed this matter in depth with the Scientific Review Administrator, I plan to pursue application for indexing of Medical Acupuncture for the June 2000 LSTRC.

     Important changes have taken place in our journal. The Editorial Board and reviewers have been revamped. The Author's Instructions have again been revised and also, authors will be required to sign an Authorship Form declaring responsibilities, and a copyright agreement to meet requirements for Index Medicus. References in each article for the past 2 issues have been painstakingly checked against MEDLINE for accuracy, and then corrected.

     Medical Acupuncture needs your input by way of "Letters to the Editor" to comment and critique published articles, etc. We will always solicit articles. They are the foundation of our readership, and the only way we will achieve excellence.

     Important changes have also taken place in our society. The American public has turned to alternative medicine and recognizes its value. It is our responsibility to embrace this movement and influence the path that medical acupuncture takes. In the past century, we have seen the elimination of many diseases, the introduction of ingenious diagnostic devices, and the discovery of antibiotics, just to mention a few. We must realize our ability to contribute to the acupuncture movement. How do we do this? We must continue to communicate and demand from ourselves the highest scientific and medical efforts. It is not enough to repeat our habits, but to question whether we can further improve the art. It is not enough to receive the journal and lay it aside; it must be read. It is not enough to let another person do it. John O'Donohue states from Eternal Echoes, "The act of making a profound choice lifts one out of the shelter of the crowd. There is a Daoist saying, 'The wind in the forest always hits the tallest trees.' A choice creates clearance. In this new space, the unknown has clear sights on the individual. No obstacles blur the target." With this thought in mind, we look forward to publishing your articles and entertaining your ideas in this journal as we search for, and advance the art of, better acupuncture.

     Finally, I wish to thank Roz Royal, my "right hand" and the nuts-and-bolts of the journal for over 2 years; Stacy Christiansen for making sure references and footnotes on all the manuscripts agree with MEDLINE; and Todd Royal for his conscientious dependability in typing the manuscripts.

-- Richard C. Niemtzow, MD, PhD MPH

EDITOR INFORMATION

     Dr Richard Niemtzow is a Colonel in the United States Air Force (USAF), on loan to the U.S. Navy for a special acupuncture project. Dr Niemtzow is the first physician practicing acupuncture full-time at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, California. His special interest is oncology.

Richard C. Niemtzow, MD, PhD, MPH
1835 East Main Street
El Cajon, California 92021-5255
Phone: 619-447-6806 - Fax: 619-447-6881 -E-mail: N5ev@aol.com